Written Answers Wednesday 26 April 2006

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the farms which have been affected by emergency prohibition orders related to the Chernobyl incident in each year since 1995.

Lewis Macdonald: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that the following table indicates the number of farms in Scotland which have been subject to restrictions as a result of the Chernobyl accident in each year since 1995.

  

Date
Number of Farms Subject to Restrictions


1995
41


1996
36


1997
28


1998
23


1999
20


2000
19


2001
18


2002
18


2003
16


2004
14


2005
11


2006
10



  Farm numbers are approximate since part-farms may have restrictions removed; also farms and part-farms may be split and/or amalgamated. Accordingly, restrictions are defined in The Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Radioactivity in Sheep) Order 1991 No. 20 (as amended) in consistent terms of defined boundaries rather than as individual farms. The remaining farms are located in the East Ayrshire and Stirling Council areas, although established policy is not to identify individual holdings without the consent of the farm owner.

Ambulance Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many attacks there have been on ambulance personnel in each year since 1999 and how many prosecutions have resulted from those attacks.

Mr Andy Kerr: Attacks on NHS staff who are trying to help people is not acceptable in any circumstances. This is why we have spent over £700,000 on projects aimed at reducing violence and aggression over the last few years.

  The centrally collected data available on violence and aggression related incidents can be seen on the Scottish Health Statistics website under workforce statistics, www.isdscotland.org/workforce. The Scottish Ambulance Service recently provided locally held information on recorded violent or abusive incidents under Freedom of Information from 2002:

  

Year
2002
2003
2004
2005


Incidents
1
1
97
258



  The rise in reported numbers of incidents is thought likely to be as a direct consequence of increased staff awareness, better reporting and ambulance staff no longer being prepared to see violent or abusive behaviour as being just part of the job.

  It is not known how many of these incidents resulted in prosecutions. However, since the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act came into force in May 2005, 116 charges are known to have been raised concerning ambulance service staff. 39 of the charges have resulted in a guilty verdict, 13 not guilty, six have been dealt with in a non-court disposal and 58 are still being dealt with.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what methodology or methodologies it will use in respect of existing privately-owned dwellings to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA has to date considered using SAP 2005, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool for existing privately-owned dwellings. Final decisions have still to be taken on which of the latter two methodologies (or both) will eventually be adopted.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what methodology or methodologies it will use in respect of newly built privately-owned dwellings to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA has to date considered using SAP 2005, SBEM, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool for newly-constructed privately-owned dwellings. Final decisions have still to be taken on which of the latter two methodologies (or both) will eventually be adopted.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what methodology or methodologies it will use in respect of existing social housing to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA has to date considered using SAP 2005, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool for existing social housing. Final decisions have still to be taken on which of the latter two methodologies (or both) will eventually be adopted.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what methodology or methodologies it will use in respect of newly built social housing to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA has to date considered using SAP 2005, SBEM, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool for newly-constructed social housing. Final decisions have still to be taken on which of the latter two methodologies (or both) will eventually be adopted.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what methodology or methodologies it will use in respect of non-domestic buildings to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA has to date considered using the Simplified Building Energy Model for non-domestic buildings, although it is likely that in the future some commercial detailed simulation models will be available and suitable for use. Final decisions have still to be taken on which detailed simulation models will eventually be adopted.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what methodologies it has considered using in respect of existing privately-owned dwellings in order to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and what the estimated cost per survey would be of using each methodology.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA has to date considered using SAP 2005, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool for existing privately-owned dwellings. No assessments have been undertaken regarding the cost of using the different methodologies as hourly and daily rates vary from company to company or from sole trader to sole trader. Independent research has however established the following data collection times for existing buildings:

Two hours for SAP 2005 for dwellings.
One hour for rdSAP.

The Scottish Energy Rating Tool is still under development, but a data collection time of 30 minutes has been considered possible.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what methodologies it has considered using in respect of newly built privately-owned dwellings in order to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and what the estimated cost per survey would be of using each methodology.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA has to date considered using SAP 2005, SBEM, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool for newly-constructed privately-owned dwellings. It is proposed that energy certification will be wholly subsumed by the pre-emptive process of obtaining a building warrant prior to building work commencing and the acceptance or rejection of a completion certificate at the end of the work. Consequently, no attempt has been made to disaggregate any data collection time from the Scottish building regulations compliance process.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what methodologies it has considered using in respect of existing social housing in order to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and what the estimated cost per survey would be of using each methodology.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA has to date considered using SAP 2005, rdSAP and the Scottish Energy Rating Tool for existing social housing. No assessments have been undertaken regarding the cost of using the different methodologies as hourly and daily rates vary from company to company or from sole trader to sole trader. Independent research has, however, established the following data collection times for existing buildings:

Two hours for SAP 2005 for dwellings.
One hour for rdSAP.

The Scottish Energy Rating Tool is still under development, but a data collection time of 30 minutes has been considered possible.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what methodologies it has considered using in respect of non-domestic buildings in order to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and what the estimated cost per survey would be of using each methodology.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA has to date considered using the Simplified Building Energy Model for non-domestic buildings, although it is likely that in the future some commercial detailed simulation models will be available and suitable for use. No assessments have been undertaken regarding the cost of using the different methodologies as hourly and daily rates vary from company to company or from sole trader to sole trader. Independent research has, however, established the following data collection times for existing buildings:

Three days for very large buildings.
One day for average size buildings.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any independent assessment has been made of the cost of using different methodologies to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and, if so, what conclusions were reached.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
No independent assessments have been undertaken regarding the cost of using the different methodologies as hourly and daily rates vary from company to company or from sole trader to sole trader. Independent research has however established the following data collection times for existing buildings:

Three days for very large non-domestic buildings.
One day for average size non-domestic buildings.
Two hours for a full data methodology for dwellings.
One hour for a reduced data methodology for dwellings.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the methodology that it will use to comply with Article 3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive will require any input from unqualified or non-accredited individuals.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
No. The Article 3 methodologies adopted will not require any input from unqualified or non-accredited individuals. However, any Article 3 methodologies that do have input from an unqualified or non-accredited individual, will be subject to the scrutiny of a verifier or local authority, acting as the accredited experts.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been to the taxpayer to date of developing the Scottish Energy Rating Tool.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
Development of the Scottish Energy Rating Tool has come from the SBSA research budget at a fixed sum of £30,000. When introduced, energy certification of buildings will cost millions of pounds per annum to owners involved with sale or rental of their buildings. It is considered important that all avenues are explored to try and provide a cost-effective solution to energy performance certification.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what benefit will accrue from devising its own methodology to comply with the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The work on the Scottish Energy Rating Tool (SERT) is currently in progress. If the research work is successful then SERT could provide a cost-effective solution to energy performance certification of dwellings, particularly in the private rental sector.

Building Standards

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any independent assessment has been made of the Scottish Energy Rating Tool (SERT), particularly whether SERT will comply with the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, and, if so, what conclusions were reached.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The work on the Scottish Energy Rating Tool is currently in progress. Development work has not yet reached a stage where an independent assessment would prove to be useful. Consequently no assessment has been carried out.

Building Standards

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will consult the public on its plans for implementation of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Directive have been implemented using existing Scottish building legislation and also guidance. The SBSA are currently out to public consultation on proposals that will build-on the implementation of these articles. This consultation commenced on 1 March 2006, has a duration of 12 weeks and is accessible from the SBSA website www.sbsa.gov.uk.
For implementation of Articles 7, 8 and 9, there is a public consultation proposed for May 2006, which will have a duration of 12 weeks and will be accessible from the SBSA website.

Building Standards

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the energy performance certificate for Scottish buildings, as required by Article 7 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, will refer to an asset rating or an operational rating, or both.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
It is proposed that asset ratings are adopted for the purpose of implementing Article 7.
To rely solely on the use of operational ratings would make it very difficult to compare the energy performance of the "built form" of different buildings. To allow the option of either an asset or an operational rating would again make it very difficult to compare the energy performance of the "built form" of different buildings. Neither of these two approaches would be useful to prospective owners and tenants, nor visitors to buildings.
To require both asset and operational ratings would be considered as over-implementation of the Directive.

Building Standards

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will interpret Article 7.3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in respect of the definition of a public building.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
Proposals for the description and characterisation of "public building" will appear in the forthcoming public consultation on Articles 7, 8 and 9. This consultation is proposed for May 2006, will have a duration of 12 weeks and will be accessible from the SBSA website www.sbsa.gov.uk.

Building Standards

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has obtained legal advice into the definition of a public building under Article 7.3 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA works closely with the Office of the Solicitor to the Scottish Executive (OSSE) on all matters concerning Scottish building legislation.
Proposals for the description and characterisation of "public building" will appear in the forthcoming public consultation on Articles 7, 8 and 9. This consultation is proposed for May 2006, will have a duration of 12 weeks and will be accessible from the SBSA website www.sbsa.gov.uk.

Building Standards

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the energy performance of a building will be expressed in CO 2 emissions and, if so, whether any other indicators will also be used.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
It is proposed that the principal indicator of energy performance of buildings will be expressed in terms of CO2 in order to promote the influence that this gas has with regard to climate change and global warming.
Options for other indicators will appear in the forthcoming public consultation on Articles 7, 8 and 9. This consultation is proposed for May 2006, will have a duration of 12 weeks and will be accessible from the SBSA website www.sbsa.gov.uk.

Building Standards

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why, in implementing the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, it is considering using the Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure as an alternative methodology to the Scottish Energy Rating Tool.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The work on the Scottish Energy Rating Tool (SERT) is currently in progress. If the research work is successful then SERT could provide a cost-effective solution to energy performance certification of dwellings, particularly in the private rental sector. It is anticipated that work on rdSAP will be completed before SERT and that rdSAP will be better suited to the data collection procedures which are associated with the proposed Single Survey.

Building Standards

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in implementing the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, what the advantages will be of using Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure as an alternative methodology to the Scottish Energy Rating Tool.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The work on the Scottish Energy Rating Tool (SERT) is currently in progress. If the research work is successful then SERT could provide a cost-effective solution to energy performance certification of dwellings, particularly in the private rental sector. It is anticipated that work on rdSAP will be completed before SERT and that rdSAP will be better suited to the data collection procedures which are associated with the proposed single survey.

Building Standards

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has obtained any legal advice as to whether a property owner completing an information sheet about that property could be described as an "independent expert" under the terms of article 10 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and, if so, what that legal advice is.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Dr. Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

  
The SBSA works closely with the Office of the Solicitor to the Scottish Executive (OSSE) on all matters concerning Scottish building legislation.
A property owner (unless suitably qualified) could not be described as an independent expert in terms of Article 10 of the Directive. Any part of the certification process that does have input from an unqualified or non-accredited individual, will be subject to the scrutiny of a verifier or local authority, acting as the independent accredited experts.

Care of Elderly People

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether those local authorities operating waiting lists for free personal care are in breach of their statutory obligations.

Lewis Macdonald: Whether a local authority was breaching its statutory duties in operating a waiting list would depend on the circumstances of the case. Waiting lists may be an appropriate way of managing access to services, provided that they are actively managed and that local authorities make some provision to meet the person’s needs in the short-term and provide a more satisfactory solution in the longer term.

Dentistry

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much NHS dental practices will receive on average annually in rent reimbursement.

Lewis Macdonald: Reimbursement of rental costs was introduced with effect from 1 April 2005. To date interim payments in respect of rent reimbursement have been made to NHS committed dental practices. These interim payments total £3,444,603 and average £5,693 per practice. The full amount of rent reimbursement for 2005-06 will be known when reconciliation payments are made, in a few weeks’ time.

Education

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-24169 by Peter Peacock on 14 March 2006, whether the minister considers that Inverclyde Council’s options appraisal in respect of the secondary education proposals demonstrates best value and sound decision-making.

Peter Peacock: All authorities have a duty to secure, and indeed demonstrate, best value in the form of continuous improvement in the performance of their functions. It is not appropriate for ministers to comment on the detail of council decisions concerning changes to the school estate, because they cannot be in possession of all the local facts and intelligence so as to enable them to re-run such decisions, whether they be decisions at option appraisal, or at any other stage of the process.

Education

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-24169 by Peter Peacock on 14 March 2006, what (a) meetings, (b) discussions and (c) correspondence it has undertaken with Inverclyde Council concerning its options appraisal in respect of the secondary education proposals, and whether the concerns expressed by Audit Scotland in its reports of May and November 2005 about poor use of options appraisal within Inverclyde Council and the impact on decision-making were fully considered during these contacts.

Peter Peacock: There have been no meetings, discussions or correspondence between the Scottish Executive and Inverclyde Council specifically concerning the option appraisal included within the revised outline business case submitted to the Executive in June 2005 in connection with the council’s proposals for a schools PPP project.

  Notwithstanding, I am aware of the relevant contents of the two Audit Scotland reports and, in particular, of the generally positive comments on the council’s education services department.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teacher applicants there were in each year since 1999 and how many were successful.

Peter Peacock: The following table shows the information available on applications and intakes to Batchelor of Education (BEd) and Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses:

  

 
Applications
Intake


Primary
Secondary
 
Primary
Secondary
 


BEd
PGCE
BEd
PGCE
Total
BEd
PGCE
BEd
PGCE
Total


1999-2000
5,316
1,996
866
2,870
11,048
636
276
172
1,003
2,087


2000-01
N/A
3,589
N/A
3,019
N/A
708
335
175
991
2,209


2001-02
N/A
4,321
N/A
3,733
N/A
745
745
201
1,116
2,807


2002-03
6,894
3,554
806
3,328
14,582
773
592
175
935
2,475


2003-04
7,380
2,066
954
3,312
13,712
755
982
175
706
2,618


2004-05
7,654
3,601
822
3,587
15,664
768
1,023
183
1,340
3,314


2005-06
8,207
4,019
941
4,659
17,826
780
1,482
191
1,798
4,251



  Note: Application numbers collected from individual higher education institutes and may include duplication where applications have been made to more than one university.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers have been suspended, resigned or taken early retirement in each year since 1999, broken down by reason cited.

Peter Peacock: Information on the number of teachers who have been suspended is not held centrally. I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-12214 on 25 November 2004, which details the numbers of teachers leaving employment relevant to your request from the Scottish Executive Teacher Flow Survey.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Europe

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions each department issued guidance in respect of regulations laid for the purpose of transposition of EU directives to those affected 12 weeks or more before the regulation came into force in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005.

Mr Tom McCabe: Responding to this question involves considerable background investigation. This information is currently being gathered and I will write to you when it is available. A copy of the information will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39442).

Europe

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many regulations were brought forward by each of its departments for the purpose of transposition of EU directives in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005.

Mr Tom McCabe: In 2004, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) brought forward 20 regulations and the Environment and Rural Affairs Department (ERAD) 10 regulations for the purpose of transposing EU Directives.

  In 2005, the FSA brought forward 11 regulations, ERAD 14 regulations, Justice Department two regulations and Education Department and Enterprise Transport and Lifelong Learning Department, one regulation each.

Europe

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the Transposition guide: how to implement European directives effectively, issued by the UK Government Cabinet Office.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive is aware of the guidance and has developed its own internal guidance on the transposition and implementation of European Directives from this Cabinet Office guide.

Fisheries

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to reduce or end the killing of seals around Scottish salmon farms as an alternative to more expensive methods of seal control, in light of Pan Fish’s stated aim of "lowest cost production" resulting from its proposed merger with Marine Harvest.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive only permits limited local management of seals in order to protect fisheries or fish farms where that is consistent with its obligations under the EC Habitats Directive.

  Guidance issued by the Farmed Animal Welfare Council, which is endorsed by the fish farming industry, makes clear that the shooting of predators, including seals, should only be undertaken as a last resort.

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has provided to the British Fluoridation Society in each year since 1999.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive’s funding of the British Fluoridation Society (BFS) is provided through section 16B of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978.

  The amounts awarded since 1999 are:

  

1999-2000
£8,000


2000-01
£8,000


2001-02
£8,000


2002-03
£10,000


2003-04
£10,000


2004-05
£10,000


2005-06
£10,000


2006-07
£10,300

Housing

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the total housing stock in Scotland was affordable housing in each year since 1996, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following tables give the available information on local authority and housing association stock as a percentage of the total housing stock for Scotland and by local authority area in each year since 1996. Information is not available by local authority area on housing association stock for 31 March 1996, 1997 and 1998.

  Local Authority and Housing Association Stock at 31 March as a Percentage of Total Housing Stock

  

 
Local Authority Stock as a Percentage of Total Stock
Local Authority and Housing Association Stock as a Percentage of Total Stock


1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


Aberdeen City
31
30
29
32
31
30
29
29
28
27


Aberdeenshire
19
19
18
20
20
19
19
18
18
17


Angus
23
22
21
26
26
25
24
23
23
22


Argyll and Bute
18
17
16
21
21
20
21
20
19
18


Clackmannanshire
34
33
32
39
39
39
37
35
34
33


Dumfries and Galloway
22
22
21
24
24
22
22
21
20
20


Dundee City
34
33
32
40
39
37
37
37
35
34


East Ayrshire
40
39
42
40
39
39
37
36
34
33


East Dunbartonshire
16
15
15
16
16
16
15
14
14
13


East Lothian
29
28
27
31
30
29
28
26
26
25


East Renfrewshire
14
13
13
14
14
14
14
13
13
13


Edinburgh, City of
16
16
15
20
20
20
19
19
18
18


Eilean Siar
16
16
16
17
16
19
16
16
15
16


Falkirk
38
37
36
38
37
36
35
33
32
31


Fife
28
28
27
31
30
29
27
28
26
26


Glasgow City
39
37
35
47
46
45
44
43
42
41


Highland
22
21
20
24
23
22
22
21
20
19


Inverclyde
36
35
35
40
38
37
34
33
31
33


Midlothian
27
26
25
34
33
32
31
29
28
27


Moray
22
21
21
22
22
21
21
20
21
20


North Ayrshire
34
31
30
34
33
34
33
32
31
30


North Lanarkshire
45
41
39
42
40
40
39
38
36
35


Orkney Islands
12
11
11
14
14
14
14
13
14
14


Perth and Kinross
19
18
17
20
20
20
19
19
18
18


Renfrewshire
31
30
29
36
35
34
33
31
30
28


Scottish Borders
18
16
16
24
23
22
22
24
24
23


Shetland Islands
25
24
24
27
27
25
25
24
23
24


South Ayrshire
24
24
23
23
23
23
22
22
21
20


South Lanarkshire
33
32
30
32
30
29
28
27
26
25


Stirling
26
25
25
28
27
26
25
24
23
23


West Dunbartonshire
37
37
36
47
48
47
46
44
43
41


West Lothian
35
32
29
34
33
31
30
29
27
27


Scotland
29
28
27
32
31
30
29
28
27
27



  Note: Table is based on estimates of local authority and housing association stock at 31 March each year and total housing stock on council tax base in autumn each year. Housing association stock estimates used to compile the table include self contained, non self contained and shared ownership housing.

  Scotland: Estimated local authority and housing association stock at December each year as a percentage of estimated total housing stock at December.

  

 
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


Percentage of Total Stock at December
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
26

Marine Environment

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive by what process regulation 48 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994, as amended, is applied to assess the implications for European wildlife sites of ship-to-ship transfers of oil and other chemicals in (a) harbour authority areas in Scotland, (b) other inshore waters and (c) offshore waters and whether this process meets the requirements of the EU Habitats Directive.

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive by what process regulation 49 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994, as amended, is applied in harbour authority areas in Scotland in respect of ship-to-ship transfers of oil and other chemicals which are likely to have an adverse effect on the integrity of a European wildlife site and whether this process meets the requirements of the EU Habitats Directive.

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how the authorities in Scotland exercise their responsibilities under the EU Habitats Directive in respect of (a) the assessment of a plan or project likely to have an effect on a European wildlife site, (b) the consideration of alternative solutions and of imperative reasons of over-riding public interest in the case of a plan or project assessed as likely to have a adverse impact on the integrity of a European wildlife site and (c) European protected species, in the absence of a national consenting regime for such plans or projects.

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how the authorities in Scotland exercise their responsibilities under the EU Habitats Directive in respect of (a) the assessment of plans or projects likely to have an effect on European wildlife sites and (b) the consideration of alternative solutions and of imperative reasons of over-riding public interest relating to plans or projects assessed as likely to have an adverse impact on the integrity of European wildlife sites, in instances when a plan or project is of a type not specified by regulations 53A to 85 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994, as amended.

Rhona Brankin: The merchant shipping legislation relating to ship-to-ship transfers of oil and other chemicals is not specifically covered by Part IV of the Conservation (Natural Habitats & c.) Regulations 1994 and as such Regulation 48 and 49 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats & c.) Regulations 1994 do not apply as a matter of law to such proposals. However, Regulation 3(4) of the Conservation (Natural Habitats & c.) Regulations 1994 requires every competent authority in the exercise of their functions, to have regard to the requirements of the Habitats Directive so far as they may be affected by the exercise of those functions. Regulation 48 and 49 transpose the requirements of Article 6(3) and 6(4) into domestic law.

  Where a European Protected species (EPS) is present and the project is likely to cause any effects which would constitute an offence under Regulations 39 or 43, the promoter of the project requires a licence under Regulation 44, which will only be granted if the three tests in that Regulation are met. These tests apply whether the EPS is within or outside a European site.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to allocate additional resources and support to tackle deliberate self-harm amongst people under 16.

Lewis Macdonald: The Choose Life suicide prevention strategy and action plan is implemented through actions plans agreed by community planning partnerships in local authority areas. As at January 2006, there are approximately 50 part or fully funded Choose Life initiatives across Scotland where self-harm is identified as a key aim of local Choose Life action plans. The Choose Life strategy includes only those aspects of self-harming behaviour which might be considered as an indication of the risk of suicide. Choose Life receives funding of £8.6 million from 2006 to 2008.

  Full details of all local Choose Life action plans can be viewed at www.chooselife.net.

  The Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 provides a framework for the provision of support to children and young people who have additional support needs. Additional support needs can arise from a range of factors and circumstances and may include children and young people who self-harm.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it will commission to examine the extent of, and growth in, deliberate self-harming incidents over the last 10 years.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive currently has no plans to commission any specific research on the extent of self-harming incidents in the past 10 years.

  Information relating to hospital discharges with a diagnosis of self-harm is already available, as are data relating to numbers of self-harm incidents in prisons and young offenders’ institutions.

  Establishing accurate prevalence rates is problematic because many self-harm injuries are untreated, or treated at home, so do not reach the attention of services or professionals.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to draw up a cross-departmental strategy to tackle any increases in deliberate self-harming incidents.

Lewis Macdonald: Executive Departments are giving collective consideration to the issue of self-harm following the recent publication of Truth Hurts the report of the National Enquiry into Self-Harm among Young People, and will make decisions on how to take action forward in due course.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific training teachers receive to recognise and identify children who may be suffering from depression.

Peter Peacock: During their initial teacher education courses, student teachers are required to undertake specific core modules which develop their understanding of health, health promotion and related issues. These core modules also support learning, recognition and understanding of a range of sensitive issues such as pupil stress, depression and bereavement.

  After qualifying, valuable continuing professional development (CPD) is offered to teachers by local authorities and other providers. CPD courses focus on all areas of learning and teaching and are expected to meet the development needs expressed by individual teachers, including during the annual process of professional review and development. Many of the courses concerned with behaviour management incorporate aspects such as recognising and identifying depression, mood swings and changes in pupil behaviour patterns.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures will be put in place to support primary care services to ensure a co-ordinated, strategic approach to assisting people who present with depression.

Lewis Macdonald: NHS boards, through structures such as community health partnerships, support primary care services to people with depression. This includes initiatives for GPs, pharmacists and primary care mental health workers to deliver appropriate integrated care, as locally as possible. The voluntary Quality and Outcomes Framework of the new General Medical Services Contract also has incentives for GP Practice teams to improve the quality of care for those with depression. In addition, the model schemes for pharmacy in some areas are delivering mental health services.

  These approaches and others will be informed by the findings of the external evaluation of the Doing Well by People with Depression initiative which has been commissioned and will report over the summer.

NHS 24

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the most recent NHS patient experience survey cost; to how many people the survey was sent, and how many replies NHS 24 received.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS 24 carries out quarterly postal patient/caller satisfaction surveys, the most recent of which was sent out following the festive period. 1,200 questionnaires were sent out and NHS 24 received 330 replies. This survey cost £504.

  NHS 24 carried out an additional one-off survey in January 2006 into calls that were handed over to local out-of-hours services for local triage by doctors over the festive period. Another 1,200 people were surveyed and NHS 24 received 323 replies. This survey also cost £504.

  NHS 24 staff carry out the administration and appraisal of the surveys as part of their existing workload and do not incur additional costs.

Older People

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports vulnerable older people being able to choose between meals on wheels and a frozen meals service.

Lewis Macdonald: It is for each local authority to decide to provide a meals service, whether frozen or not, based on an assessment of the individual’s care needs. The individual’s care plan, and the monitoring arrangements for managing that care, should provide the appropriate support to meet the individual’s needs.

Older People

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has received from Volunteer Development Scotland of the impact on the numbers of volunteers of the replacement of meals on wheels by a frozen food meals service.

Lewis Macdonald: None.

Older People

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact it anticipates that the replacement of meals on wheels by a frozen food meals service may have on volunteer development.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive Volunteering Strategy recognises that decisions on where and how to provide opportunities for volunteers are best taken at a local level.

Older People

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on the wellbeing and safety of vulnerable older people of the replacement of meals on wheels by a frozen meals service.

Lewis Macdonald: This is a matter for local authorities, who have a duty under section 12A of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to assess the needs of people and decide, in the light of the assessment, which services should be provided and how.

Older People

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the need for any additional support services for vulnerable older people arising from the replacement of meals on wheels by a frozen food meals service.

Lewis Macdonald: The provision of appropriate support services is a matter for each local authority.

Police

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers it appropriate that the Lothian and Borders Police Call Grading Protocol, which categorises calls to the police for the purpose of the allocation of a response time band, categorises calls, including 999 calls, about silent abusive calls where the caller is believed to be a partner or ex-partner of the recipient as Grade 4 which means that the calls can, if necessary, be attended in excess of four hours, and whether this complies with the Executive’s commitment to tackle domestic abuse.

Cathy Jamieson: The Lothian and Borders Police Call Grading Protocol makes it clear that where it appears that there is a serious and immediate threat to life or personal safety resulting from an on-going incident, including from partners or ex-partners, this will result in the immediate attendance of police officers.

  The seriousness which Lothian and Borders Police attaches to incidents of this type reflects the Executive’s commitment to tackling domestic abuse, including ensuring protection for those who experience it.

Police

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers have been injured in (a) training and (b) the line of duty in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: Information on the number of officers injured in the line of duty is not held centrally and is a matter for individual chief constables.

  Information on the number of injuries sustained by police officers in the course of training at the Police College over the past five years is shown in the following table.

  The college started collecting information in November 2001 so the figures for that year cover a period of less than two months.

  

Year
Number


2001
14


2002
104


2003
167


2004
169


2005
78


2006 (to date)
7

Police

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers have sought compensation for injuries caused (a) by training and (b) in the line of duty in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: Information on compensation claims for injuries sustained in the line of duty is not held centrally and is a matter for individual chief constables. No officers have sought compensation for injuries caused by training at the Police College over the past five years.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22728 by Cathy Jamieson on 8 February 2006, whether this answer indicates that the Scottish Prison Service is unable to determine the amount of taxpayers’ money saved by placing prisoners in open prisons rather than regular prisons.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  
The SPS considers, for the reasons set out in the answer to question S2W-22728, on 8 February 2006, that it is self evident that costs in open prisons are lower than those in closed establishments.
Reasons for these differences include the lower standards of security required including lower levels of staff supervision. Greater access to the community by prisoners also requires less duplication of facilities and services which in the case of open establishments, can be accessed in the community. We could determine the exact difference in cost but to do so would be at disproportionate cost and would represent poor value for money.


  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Prisoner Escorts

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers have been redeployed as a result of the first phase of the contracting-out of prisoner escort and court custody services.

Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-13357 on 25 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Regeneration

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to assist East Ayrshire Council to deliver its regeneration strategy for Kilmarnock town centre.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive’s regeneration policy statement, published on 28 February, identifies Ayrshire as one of only two regional regeneration priorities, and it commits the Executive both to pursuing regeneration opportunities there that will have a regional impact, and to supporting and shaping relevant initiatives to reflect our wider regeneration objectives. Since the statement was published, the Executive has provided funding of £120,000 for the Kilmarnock Town Centre Living Initiative, and Historic Scotland has provided a further £711,000 to help revitalise Kilmarnock town centre, and Executive officials continue to work with East Ayrshire Council to help develop and deliver its regeneration strategy both for Kilmarnock and for the wider area.

Regulation of Care

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28161 by Mr Frank McAveety on 30 August 2002, what advice it has received about the implications of the House of Lords decision in Robertson (AP) v  Fife Council on 25 July 2002 relating to the provision of residential accommodation and whether it will be seeking to amend the relevant legislation.

Lewis Macdonald: Following an assessment of the implications of the House of Lords decision, the Scottish Executive Health Department issued a letter on 5 March 2003 to local authorities and voluntary organisations. That letter endorsed the guidance issued by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). The COSLA guidance said that the effects of the judgement were that local authorities were required to make arrangements for residential care for any person whose care assessment indicated it was required, regardless of their ability to pay. Residents would still be required to undergo financial assessment and would be liable to reimburse the council for the board charge if they were assessed as being able to do so in terms of the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992. The Executive also endorsed COSLA’s advice that there was no change to the rules for assessing notional capital as a result of the judgement. Accordingly, the Executive has no plans to amend the relevant legislation.

School Meals

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ban all nut products and products containing nut traces from school meals.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive currently has no plans to ban nut products or products containing nuts from schools. However, the Scottish Executive is committed to ensuring that schools and education authorities are aware of, and implement, measures to protect pupils from possible nut allergies and has issued guidance on this matter through Hungry for Success .